Group
Calls For Health-Based Approach to West Nile Virus,
Widescale Spraying of Mosquito Pesticides Called Into Question(Beyond Pesticides, August 31, 2005)
A national public health advocacy organization today called on communities
across the country to take a reasoned health-based approach in response
to West Nile virus. The Washington-based group, Beyond Pesticides, is
working with community residents who are asking for evidence that spraying
their communities with toxic pesticides actually controls the virus
and is worth the health risks associated with widespread public exposure.
The federal agency responsible for determining the effectiveness of
these spray practices, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has
not conducted reviews, as required by law.

The Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires that
pesticides registered for public health use are tested for efficacy,
but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still in the review
process.

“Ground spraying
in general is a waste of money,” said noted entomologist and Cornell
University professor David Pimentel. “Most ground spraying is
political and has very little to do with effective mosquito control.”

“We have asked
the EPA for the data on pesticide product effectiveness (efficacy) for
public health mosquito control and have been told that there is none,”
said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides, a national
environmental organization. “This is problematic because chemicals
like chlorpyrifos (DursbanTM), which was phased out due to its toxicity
to children, and other hazardous chemicals continue to be used despite
the availability of alternative preventive and less toxic approaches,”
said Mr. Feldman.

Many communities
across the country are not spraying pesticides for West Nile virus (WNv).
Instead, they are adopting preventive strategies that manage mosquito
breeding areas and educate people on how to reduce their risk of the
virus. Scientific studies link the pesticides used to combat adult mosquitoes
to effects on the central nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems
and long-term health effects like cancer and disruption of the endocrine
(hormonal) system even at very low doses.

“When we find
West Nile present in mosquito pools here in Washington, D.C.,”
said Peggy Keller, Chief of the Bureau of Community Hygiene and Animal
Disease Prevention in the D.C. Department of Health. “We don't
spray. We’ve learned that the best way to protect the public from
both the virus and the pesticides is to intensify our larval program
and distribute outreach and education information that emphasizes prevention
and protection techniques to the public in the surrounding area.”

Although Washington,
D.C. has detected positive WNv mosquito pools, no human cases of the
virus have been reported. Positive mosquito pools are often used as
a main justification for widescale aerial or truck-based mosquito pesticide
spraying.

After carefully
reviewing the potential effectiveness of spraying as well as the risks
of the virus with the risks of pesticide exposure, the City of Lyndhurst,
Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, passed an ordinance prohibiting the spraying
of pesticides to control the spread of WNv. Several large-population
municipalities also follow a no-spray approach to mosquito management
including Ft. Worth, Texas; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Charlotte, North Carolina;
Cincinnati, Ohio and others.

Preliminary comparison
data show no significant difference in the human rates of WNv in communities
that ground spray adulticides compared to those that use other methods
of mosquito control.

Pesticide spraying
of adult mosquitoes is known to be the least effective method of mosquito
management, according to guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to experts,
the threat of WNv is best managed through an integrated program that
does not expose vulnerable populations of the society to pesticides,
including children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised
immune systems. The most effective program to protect the public from
WNv focuses funds and resources on removing breeding areas, killing
mosquitoes that carry the virus before they start flying, and mass public
education on prevention and precaution.

“The risk
of getting sick from West Nile does not even compare with the risks
of getting other illnesses such as influenza, respiratory disease, or
cancer,” said Eileen Gunn, special projects director with Beyond
Pesticides. “Meanwhile, spraying the public with pesticides may
in fact contribute to these and other unfortunately common illnesses
as well as our susceptibility to getting the virus.”